The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1887-12-08
DYING JUGGERNAUT.
THE ONCE FAMOUS INDIAN GOD
HAS HAD HIS DAY.


HAS HAD HIS DAY.
Beneath tho Cruel Wheels - Coolies
Hired to Drag the Car Once Drawn BY
Devotces.
The announcement that the once famous
festival of .Juggernaut has so declined In
popularity as TO render it necessary for the
priests to hire coolies to drag the car, Is
measure Of the extent to which the destruc-
tive solvent of western thought IS being
applied 10 eastern creeds. The car OF the
great God ot Pooree was one OF the most
sacred Of Brahminic ''proprietles," and
tine Rath Jattra festival which, IN I'M
rortance, Welded to that Of no other deity
in the NinGoo Pantheon. From every
part of the vast empire of Hindostan pill
:,riIns locked to share IN it, and when the
car of JUggernaUJ was dragged once 8
year from the temple in order to bathe
the gods in the cool water Of the tank,
a mile and n half distant, the widest en-
thus;as!n seized the vast multitude or de-
Yotees. Thousands rushed to seize the
cables, and so eager were the volunteers
for this holy service that the best and
greatest men Of OriSsa struggled with each
other to obtain hold upon the ropes. To
use the language of IN old writer who
witnessed the Rath Jattra in its palmY
davs, they are so greedy and eager to
draw it that whosoerer, by shonlderlnS,
crowding, showing, heaving, thrustlng, or
in any insolent way, can but lay hand
upon the rope they think themselves
blessed and happy. And when 1t IS going
alonc the city there are many that will
offer themselves as sacrifice to the idol,
and desperately lie down on the ground
that~ths CHARIOT S1hSsseetsss>-nay s run over
them, whereby they are killed tIls@.|
Some get broken arms, some broken legs,
so that many are destroyed, and think to
merit heaven"
IN HONOR OF THE GOD.
At G. en- 4 later date martyrs To Jugger-
naur, or Jagganna'th, as he is more cor
rectly termed, were not infrequent. When
Francis Buchanan was in Poorec early IN
this century, he describes the harsh graf
ing of the gigantic car as it moved along,
the obscene songs of the priests in honor
of the cod, and the fierce glances which
the fanatics bestowed on the beef eating
Englishmen, as pilgrim announced him.
self ready to become sacrlhce to the
idol No one daring or caring to prevent
the self-immolation, the man Frustrated
himself in the road before the tower as 1t
moved along, living on his face with his
arms stretched forward. The multitude
pressed around him, leaving the space
clear, until he was crushed to death by
The wheels Of the ponderous structure.
Then a wild cry Of praise was raised, and
as the god was seen to smile" at the
li5stio,. Of spouting blood the devotees
threw cowries and pieces of money on the
body Of the victim in appreciation OF the
holy deed by which he had won lmmor-
tally in the HiDdoo Walhalla.
It is. therefore, suggestive OF O. strange
revolution in Eindoo opinion to hear that
not only are victims lacking, but that, in
stead of thousands struggling for the
honor of place at the drag ropes, labor
ing men, at so many annas per diem, have
10 be hired to perform the sacred func-
ton. The awe of the Indian people for
..the lord of the world" has been decln-
inc. For many years past the fame OF
the great god Of Orissa has been on The
v:,nr. and the time when human sacrl-
dce was deliberately offered up to the
hideous Idol is fast getting beyond the
power of the very oldest OF the old Indians
20 recall.
NUMBER OF DEvoTEEs.
Admitting that the number Of deVotees
this year is smaller owing to the loss OF two
pilgrim ships-and the prophecy that
third will be wrecked before the yearls IS out
it is undeniable that Jagganna'th is
doomed, and the wealth which it
brought to the priest and the towns
people of Pooree is likely to vanish before
many wears elapse Sometimes a poor de-
crepit wretch, weary Of life or drugged by
the priests with Indian hemp or opium,
will wildly throw himself in front of the
wheels, though he is usually dragged out
nv the police, who have orders to prevent
any attempts at suicide. Saddest abase-
ment OF all, from the standpoint of Brah-
nninism, it happened few years ago, for
the first time in history, that. to the hor-
ror and chagrin of the priests, the car OF
.Iacranna'th stood still in the streets OF
Pooree, while the pilgrims looked on ii
impious apathy. Yet no harm befell them,
although a subsequent famine has been
attributed to their sacrileglous careless
ness. However, the result has been that,
though worshipers still come to Pooree,
they just as frequently prefer to save
themselves the trouble OF hauling the
gods, and US has happened on the present
occasion, the priests, afraid OF the ldols
never reaching the tank, have contracted
with irreveren-ial coolies to perform the
lob for stipulated number OF rupees.
Mortality there is, of course, still The
Door die for want of food, of disease, and
Of lack of proper accommodation. But
there is no longer any need for lnterfer-
ing, for the wrong will soon right itself
by Jacganaa'th ceasing to draw" The
east, we fear, is already grown lax in its
RELIGIOUS observances. The pilgrim takes
O. third class circular ticket to the holy
place Infidel Shipowners issue passes TO
D'ieIIah, and tourist contractor escorts
the faithful over the forty miles between
Mecca and the sea. The Egyptian der
wishes are becoming extremely chary
about making pavement Of their persons
for the Saadeeveh Sheyk to ride over, and
now that the Indian eNchequer is bemoan-
ING the reduced returns from the jag
canna'th trade" and coolies have to be
hired to drag the car. we seem long way
from the time when Job Charnock, factor
at Fort William, was converted to Hin
dooism, or when Gen. Stewart engaged
Brahmin to perform daily worship among
the idols in his Observation-Disclosures Stan
dard.
Women and Mont Blanc.
Si1v-one women in all have made the